Final Countdown for 100 Hens due to be culled
It’s down to the wire for 100 hens set to be slaughtered on an Auckland farm.
Animal refuge New Beginnings Rescue and Rehoming has until Friday to find “forever” homes in Auckland for the free-range birds which are due to be culled.
At 18-months old, the brown shavers were moulting and having a breather from egg laying, said Dani Prance, who runs New Beginnings Rescue and Rehoming in Taranaki and Auckland’s Rodney District.
“They can still lay eggs but they've reached their use by date for farmers.”
Prance has found homes for about 900 hens from the farm and is desperate to see the rest relocated so “they can live until they’re ancient and die of natural causes.”
“Normally we’d easily find a lot of homes in Auckland but it’s dwindling down,” she said.
Free-range hens face over crammed conditions with limited food and no grass, Prance said.
“You find girls that are definitely at the bottom of the pecking order. They're super skinny and you can see all their bones.”
But they flourished when they got to their new homes, learning quickly how to scratch and forage for food, she said.
“The best feeling is when you pull a hen out of one of those farms and get to put them down on grass and you just watch the amazement in them.”
They made great pets, she said, as they became friendly and ended up following their owners around.
“They’ve just got amazing personalities.”
The adopted hens have been re-homed in a variety of settings ranging from suburban town houses to 20-acre blocks.
“Some people want to fill up community food stalls with eggs, or you get home bakers that do a lot of baking for the community or Meals on Wheels and just want to be a bit more self-sustainable,” Prance said.
Chickens live eight years on average, but hens only productively lay eggs in the first two years of their lives.
Anyone interested in adopting the hens- from collection points in Dairy Flat, Wharehine and Bombay- can email newbeginningsrescue.rehoming@gmail.com or message the rescue’s Facebook page.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.1% Yes
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15.2% No
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2.7% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
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